Chapter 1: Angel, Red Dragon, Glazed Pagoda (I)

Douluo Continent, Star Dou Forest, Outer Region

The Star Dou Forest was the largest and oldest gathering place for spirit beasts on the Douluo Continent. As far as the eye could see, towering ancient trees stretched endlessly, each one nestled closely against the next. Branches extended and intertwined among them, enveloping the forest in a misty green haze. The palpable rhythm of life seemed almost tangible in the air.

"Roar—"

A furious roar suddenly shattered the tranquil atmosphere within the forest. A massive black silhouette leaped forward, and wherever it passed, swathes of ancient trees toppled to either side like wheat being harvested.

This was a spirit beast covered in steel-like brown-black fur that resembled a giant ape. Although it ran on all fours, its shoulders stood over seven meters tall. Its physique was incredibly robust, with muscles harder than granite bulging like small hills all over its body.

Diamond Baboon, 2,000 years of cultivation.

The Diamond Baboon was renowned among spirit beasts for two main reasons. First, as the largest ape-type spirit beast, its massive, powerful muscles gave it an unparalleled physique, endowing it with extraordinary strength, speed, attack power, and defense. Its only flaw was the lack of long-range attack capabilities.

Second, although it was an ape-type spirit beast, the Diamond Baboon was notoriously unintelligent. It acted purely on instinct, had a violent disposition, and loved to kill. Its fierce and domineering nature meant that it would attack anything it perceived as a threat. This made many other spirit beasts steer clear of it.

Yet, this Diamond Baboon, infamous for rampaging through the spirit beast world as a brute, was actually fleeing at this moment!

Its once fierce and cruel amber eyes were now filled with fear and unease. It frequently glanced over its shoulder, as if some indescribable monster was pursuing it.

"First Spirit Skill: Radiant Spirit Array."

A clear voice suddenly rang out.

Instantly, a massive, radiant golden seven-pointed star array materialized above the Diamond Baboon's head. Streams of light shimmered like a river of stars, scattering the fleeting splendors of the mortal world. As it descended from the clouds, it seemed as if an immortal was painting with broad strokes from below, leaving trails of shimmering light in the air.

"Roar!"

At the sight of the streams of light descending, the Diamond Baboon abruptly halted its flight and covered its head with both hands to protect its weak spots.

The streams of light radiated a metallic chill as they sliced through the Diamond Baboon's arm-formed defense like a door being forcefully pushed apart. Blood scattered like wood shavings. The next moment, a figure from above entered its line of sight.

Ling Bai appeared with his angelic wings spread wide. A misty, ethereal, six-winged figure seemed to embrace him from behind. He held a radiant golden three-foot-long sword in his hand, and a yellow and two purple spirit rings glowed brilliantly at his feet. His handsome face was calm and indifferent, and his golden eyes reflected only cold, merciless killing intent!

The Diamond Baboon roared thunderously. It could no longer restrain itself as it sensed Ling Bai's killing intent. Its massive body charged forward like an armored tank, its arm thick as a giant pillar raised high, slamming toward Ling Bai's head with the force of a gale.

The Angel Sword slashed down, meeting the blood-soaked arm. A tremendous crash echoed as the ground beneath the Diamond Baboon cracked inch by inch the moment they collided. Terrifying fissures spread in all directions as dust clouds billowed into the air.

A scream of agony came from within the dust. A hairy arm flew through the air tracing a perfect arc before crashing to the ground.

The severed arm was smooth and cleanly cut. Golden light surged as blood flowed profusely. Meanwhile, destructive energy rapidly invaded the Diamond Baboon's body and spread wildly to every limb and bone. Though not highly intelligent, the Diamond Baboon's survival instincts frantically warned it that if it didn't end the battle quickly, its strength would weaken more and more until it became helpless prey for the human in front of it.

Enduring the discomfort brought by the internal damage, the Diamond Baboon swung its remaining scarred arm toward Ling Bai's abdomen.

Ling Bai seemed unresponsive as the Diamond Baboon's hand formed a claw and thrust straight in. The baboon's huge mouth twisted into a human-like triumphant grin.

In the next second, its hand passed through Ling Bai's body without a single drop of blood spattering. Ling Bai's figure became increasingly faint, dissolving into particles of light and disappearing.

An afterimage!

"Roar?!"

The Diamond Baboon hastily used its remaining arm to protect its vital spots, but immediately, a brilliant golden sword light fell upon its back. Large swaths of brown-black fur were shredded, scattering into countless glowing particles.

The shimmering blood-red light particles created a hauntingly beautiful scene amidst the lush green forest.

Ling Bai reappeared before the Diamond Baboon, the radiant golden light emitted from the Angel Sword in his hand growing even sharper. His angelic wings spread wide, and as his spirit power surged, his three spirit rings rose and fell in a continuous motion.

Two more figures swiftly arrived at this moment.

One was a bright young girl with fiery red hair tied into a high ponytail. Two faintly glowing yellow spirit rings indicated her status as a 2-ringed Spirit Grand Master. Fiery red diamond-shaped dragon scales appeared on her arms, though they were crisscrossed with cracks, as if they would shatter at the slightest touch. A trace of scarlet blood stained the corner of her mouth.

The other figure was also a young girl, but her beauty and demeanor surpassed the red-haired girl by a notch. Her platinum-blonde hair cascaded to her waist, and her azure eyes were as clear as a tranquil lake. A seven-colored Glazed Pagoda floated in the palm of her hand, its radiance adding an aura of sacred inviolability to her flawless, fair face.

"Bai-ge, are you alright?" the platinum-haired girl asked with a hint of concern.

"I'm fine. You and Wu Feng, be careful."

Ling Bai's gaze sharpened as he locked onto the heavily injured Diamond Baboon. "It's going to fight desperately."

"Grr... grr..."

Supporting itself on its two hind legs, the Diamond Baboon stood upright, its height now surpassing ten meters. Its tusks ground against each other, producing a series of sharp, grating sounds. Its blood-red eyes glared fixedly at the three of them.

These damned, persistent humans sticking to it like glue!

Especially that flying birdman!

"Roar—"

The excruciating pain in its body, coupled with its inner fury, finally drove the Diamond Baboon to madness!

Its eyes instantly turned blood-red, and even its brown-black fur seemed to ignite, the color rapidly darkening until it transformed into a deep, dark red.

Innate Spirit Skill: Berserk!

At the same time, the Diamond Baboon's aura became violently chaotic. Already of questionable intelligence, it abandoned the last shred of rationality after using Berserk and became an unstoppable killing machine.

The Diamond Baboon no longer felt any pain in its body. Its already massive physique swelled even more. Its single arm, thick as an iron pillar, swung and flailed, causing a series of sonic booms in the air. Its enormous body leaped like a cannonball toward Ling Bai.

The berserk Diamond Baboon exuded immense pressure. The huge gust of wind generated by its leap made even Ning Tian and Wu Feng's pretty faces turn pale despite the distance. One of them bit her lip defiantly as she gazed at Ling Bai's serene figure in the sky, while the other summoned her own two yellow spirit rings!

"The Seven Treasures revolve to produce a Glazed Pagoda!

The Seven Treasures have names. The first is: Strength! The second is: Speed!"

Radiance enveloped the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda as two seven-colored beams shot out from the first two layers, instantly merging into Ling Bai's body.

An arc of sword energy, like a brilliant golden meteor with a dazzling golden tail flame, appeared in the Diamond Baboon's eyes as a deadly beauty.

The brilliant golden light illuminated this part of the forest, casting a glow on both Ling Bai and the Diamond Baboon's faces.

Ling Bai saw the astonishment and rage on its face, while the baboon saw the coldness and bloodlust in his eyes... as well as his second purple spirit ring that had started glowing at some point!

Seraphim's Second Spirit Skill: Evil-Banishing Slash!

"Roar!!!"

Ling Bai brushed past the Diamond Baboon, and the latter felt as though the world had broken apart. Sunlight poured through the towering branches of the ancient trees as it spilled onto them. The massive spirit beast behind him remained frozen in its final roaring posture until it crashed to the ground with a thunderous sound...